According to an Interior Ministry press release issued on the afternoon of January 9, the 21-day war of aggression against Cambodian territory by Thai armed forces caused suffering to more than 640,000 innocent Cambodian civilians, forcing them from their homes into temporary accommodation at pagodas and safe camps. From the ceasefire’s entry into force on December 27, 2025, to the morning of January 9, 2026, about 470,000 displaced people had returned home, while more than 170,000 remained in camps.
The ministry’s release said another 5,787 displaced people returned home between 6 a.m. on January 8 and 6 a.m. on January 9. A total of 173,107 people remained in camps, including 90,795 women and 56,757 children.
Other displaced people had stayed with relatives in 18 additional provinces and were gradually returning home. The report noted that displacement on this scale had seriously affected everyday life, including livelihoods, public well-being and housing rights, especially children’s right to education, as well as causing worrying psychological trauma.
The same release said that in Oddar Meanchey province, 214 schools, 34 hospitals or health centres, one provincial administration, 33 provincial departments and units, five district administrations, 10 municipal- and district-level law-enforcement units, 23 commune/sangkat administrations and 23 administrative police posts had reopened. Meanwhile, 46 schools, seven hospitals or health centres, one sangkat administration and one administrative police post remained closed.
In Banteay Meanchey province, five schools and one hospital or health centre remained closed, while public-service institutions at provincial, municipal, district and commune/sangkat levels had reopened. In Preah Vihear province, 61 schools and 14 hospitals or health centres remained closed, while 12 schools, 12 hospitals or health centres, one district-level and six commune/sangkat-level public-service institutions had reopened. By: Nget Pisant.
